Con-nec-tiv-i-ty

out•li•er [out-lahy-er]
n.
1. a person or thing that lies outside.
2. a part of a formation left detached through the removal of surrounding parts by erosion.
3. me?

con•nec•tiv•i•ty (kŏn'ěk-tĭv'ĭ-tē)
n.
1. The quality or condition of being connected or connective.
2. The ability to make and maintain a connection between two or more points
3. blogging

Sometimes I feel like an outlier in my family (or a pioneer or black sheep, depending on what perspective I choose to take). My family is incredibly close, and for this I am grateful. I love that my siblings are my closets friends in the world, and appreciate the strong relationship I have always had with both of my parents. This aside, I am the sibling who "chose" to move far away. Other side of the country & 3,000 miles away far-away. This is not always easy, and really, sometimes quite hard actually. My parents (especially my dad) cried their way through our wedding & subsequent receptions, likely a combination of happiness and the real grief that came with me moving so far away. I've had the same feelings that accompany detachment, but have always tried to be brave, while still trying to appreciate & remember how lucky I am to live where I do (not to mention to have the husband that I came here with). Point being - while I sometimes feel like an outlier (e.g., not being able to come home for a quick weekend, missing my nieces & nephews baseball games, baptisms, birthday parties, time at the lake, etc.), I'm happy for the connectivity that still exists within the Hudson family. We would be lost without our Verizon-to-Verizon minutes, email, and almost-daily postcards from Dad. I would feel terribly alone if I did not talk to at least a few of my siblings each day, or if my Dad didn't call me most mornings on his way to work. Each of us have done our best to stay connected in our own various ways. I started my blog as an avenue to foster connectivity with my family & friends. It has turned into something that has even allowed me to make new friends, something that I didn't quite expect but love. I'm not even sure how often my own family has read it, but the bug seems to be catching on... Joanna (SLC), Tara & Kevin (Portland), Elizabeth & Ryan (Orem), Erin & Christopher (Spokane) and Patrick & Kera (San Francisco) have all recently started their own blogs (Mom & Dad- time to get on the ball!). I hope this means that we will all feel a little closer & involved in each other's lives. I hope it means that on the hard days, I won't feel quite so far away.